Above: Second-floor deck with view of the garden leading to the canal. There's a 42-foot dock waiting there.

Above: The living room of the 8,000-square-foot home.

You could live your life in metro Detroit and never know of the tiny Berry Subdivision if it weren't home to the famous, sometimes infamous, Manoogian Mansion -- the official home of Detroit's mayor.

But this pocket neighborhood of three blocks, 74 houses, is the rare Detroit location where you can dock a 40-foot boat and embark via the Detroit River to all five Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Since 2003, the canal-side house for sale has been home to John Thompson -- owner of the Detroit institution called Honest ? John's Bar and No Grill -- and his wife Irene. In this stately, quiet, neighborhood, where the only sound may be the gentle slap-slap of sailboat rigging next door at Gregory Boat, the couple call it "their urban retreat."

It's a three-story, red-brick behemoth of a house with electrically operated iron gates and two large new kitchens -- the summer kitchen and the winter kitchen.

The original kitchen is on the second level, and not close enough to their backyard to suit their summer lifestyle, which is entertaining outdoors. So at the back of the house they built a second kitchen on the ground floor, close to Irene Thompson's historic-style gardens, the dock and water. "We have seating outside for 48," says John Thompson.

The house was built in 1898. Over the past 20 years, it's been mostly remodeled by the Thompsons and the previous owner, their friend William (Bud) Brian, founder of Budco. That includes new hardwood floors, two new kitchens, track lighting, exposed beams, and a second staircase built by Detroit artist Jason Huffhines.

Mechanicals include a new eight-zone furnace and three 2 1/2-ton air-conditioning units. Waterfront assets include a 42-foot dock of plastic composite decking with 220-volt electrical service, hot and cold running water, a boathouse and a kayak house.

The subdivision has just three streets -- each a block -- Fiske, Lodge and Parkview. They end at shorter Dwight Street, which holds seven mansions sitting on the Detroit River; 74 homes on 118 lots.

Most were built from 1898 to 1930, the start of the Depression. Alex Manoogian, founder of Masco, donated his Mediterranean Revival house to be the mayor's home.

Residents say the area is the safest in Detroit because police cars are parked in front 24/7.

John Thompson ticks off all the development going on in downtown Detroit and the Jefferson/Kercheval area -- Whole Foods, a possible new arena for the Red Wings, new bars and restaurants.

"We're three miles from downtown, two miles from Grosse Pointe shopping and 100 feet from the water," Thompson says. "If I wasn't 60, I'd stay."

More Details: Canal home

Where: 532 Parkview, Detroit

Price: $600,000

Bedrooms: 6

Bathrooms: 3 full, 2 half

Square feet: 8,000

Key Features: Large 1898 house sits on a canal to the Detroit River, with a 42-foot dock that has 220-volt electric power, hot and cold running water, a boathouse, scenery that includes marinas, the Detroit River, the Detroit Yacht Club, Belle Isle, Waterworks Park. Two large chef-quality kitchens include a double-size Wolf range and oven. Extensive renovation includes hardwood floors, beamed ceilings, an artist-built staircase. There’s a separate-entrance apartment and a third-floor exercise and recreation room.